Friends with Benefits

August 16, 2006

The Power of Pomegranate

For me, their sweet taste was enough. Pomegranates symbolize summer, the pool, the tropics - they're a taste of the sun. I dreamed up a rimming sugar because the tangy taste changes cocktail hour. The flavor makes the party even better.

It's not just me either. Everyone is catching on to the craze. Pomegranate lemonade. Pomegranate tea. Pomegranate lipstick. Pomegranate perfume. Starbucks is even with it - the Pomegranate Frappucino.

But Jane Porter's write-up in this morning's Tribune proved that there's much more to the tangy fruit's trend. Pomegranates are the new superdrug. Doctors are locked away in labs, eating pomegranates, feeding pomegranates to rabbits, taking tests, crunching numbers, and this news just came in: they can save your life. Just ask Jane.

In fact, if you aren't doing anything now, you should go to the produce section of your local grocery store. Order a truckload of pomegranates.

These are just some of the effects of the Mediterranean masterpiece fruit.

- Reduce the risk of heart disease

- Slow prostate cancer

- Redefine PMS

- Give Viagara makers a run for their money

Imagine the next wave of commercials - "Because pomegranate is the most powerful all-natural healer, the fruit can work miracles that last a bit too long. Please consult your doctor if symptoms last over 4 hours."

Check out the article at the Tribune's website for full details. Registration is free. Pomegranates are priceless.

Bill Buford: HeatHeat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany- A perfect Pig Roasting Pigmailion story from desk jockey to line cook in New York's Babbo restaurant

Mark Kurlansky: Salt: A World Historyfinally finished this sodium saga and while it's slow in many places, it's still a fascinating read about the history of salt and how different cultures in the world have lived and died for this simple element. Other food origins revealed as well. It's no Sidney Sheldon but give it a try.